Recipe Monday: Bone Broth is Great for Your Health!

Now that we’ve rung in the new year and have eaten our way through the holidays, I have a recipe for your good health. It’s bone broth.
You know how chicken soup is the elixir that cures all ills? What if I told you that bone broth has healing properties –it’s chicken soup on steroids – and is good for your gut health?
Plus, you need bone broth in your cooking repertoire. Yes, you can buy it at the grocery store, but it is no way as good as the recipe I have here.
The first thing I do is cook an organic chicken in the Instant Pot (where you can easily roast a chicken), and then I use those bones to make bone broth. Organic is your goal here; you don’t want the marrow and the collagen (the healthy stuff) from a bird that was fed a diet of junk.
This is time-intensive when it comes to how long the broth cooks. But that’s it. It’s easy. You can do the same thing with beef bones, but that takes twice as long. And here is how you’ll use bone broth: in everything. If something calls for chicken broth, use bone broth. Cooking rice or pasta? Use bone broth. Freeze it after 5-7 days in an ice cube tray and pop out a cube or two for warm broth. Drink some bone broth every day.
I am including three different ways to prepare bone broth. You now have no excuse!Recipe adapted from www.apinchofhealthy.com

Bone Broth

Ingredients

Bones from a whole organic chicken

2 stalks of celery

2 large carrots

3 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled

1 onion, quartered

2 tablespoons, apple cider vinegar

Fresh herbs

Salt and pepper to taste

2 bay leaves

Instructions
Stovetop:

Place the chicken bones into a 12-quart stock pot and cover with water.

Add the veggies, herbs and apple cider vinegar.

Bring to a low boil.

Reduce heat to the lowest setting.

Partially cover, and simmer for at least 20-24 hours. The longer the better.

Strain and store in the refrigerator.

Instant Pot:

Place all ingredients into the Instant Pot, and add water until it is about 2/3 full.

Place the lid on, lock it, seal the vent.

Use the manual setting to cook for 120 minutes.

Use the quick release valve when time is up, or feel free to let it release naturally. Both ways work.

After releasing pressure, remove the lid, and use a strainer to separate the liquids from the solids.

At this point, I cook it on the slow cooker method to keep getting the collagen from the bones. The longer, the better. So make it at least 12 hours.